Help with options for a Fiberglass Pool bowing out after draining

[erdayo]

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this.
I saw lots of other posts about Fiberglass pools bowing, but mine is a bit unique and I was hoping to get some advice.
My inground Fiberglass pool was already installed when I purchased my home. I'm guessing the pool is in the neighborhood of 15 years old.
I recently (Within the last 3 days) Hired someone to come and apply a re-coat of Aquaguard 5000 to the surface of the pool.
In order to do so, they had to drain the pool. The pool does have a separate sump to control groundwater and the contractor ensured they kept a pump in the sump hole to keep the water drained.
However, now that the work is complete and the pool is filled, I have two noticeable outward budges in my pool, at the deep end, almost directly across from each other.
The pool is now filled with water, and the contractor is trying to tell me the buldes were there before. But I have spent enough time in this pool to know there were no buldges in it before he drained it and re-filled it.
I don't think this contactor is dishonest, but at this point I'm not sure about his skill set to address this issue.
So I'm asking what my options could be to fix the bulges short of breaking the concrete and re-digging around the pool?
Or will are these bulges' just an aesthetic problem and won't hurt the pool structure?
The odds of him doing any major work to fix the problem are slim.
Thank you

 

[Texas Splash]

If the bowing isn't extreme, it should be okay. Do you have any before & after pics you could share? The only way to resolve outward bowing would be to remove most of the water and re-pack the surrounding areas to push the shell inwards. Lots of work and a mess for sure. Interesting though that the wall bowed outward when empty. Once empty, if the walls were not braced well from the inside, I would expect a tendency for the walls to bow inwards from the outside pressure of the soil.

 

[erdayo]

If the bowing isn't extreme, it should be okay. Do you have any before & after pics you could share? The only way to resolve outward bowing would be to remove most of the water and re-pack the surrounding areas to push the shell inwards. Lots of work and a mess for sure. Interesting though that the wall bowed outward when empty. Once empty, if the walls were not braced well from the inside, I would expect a tendency for the walls to bow inwards from the outside pressure of the soil.

Thank you Texas Splash. Unfortunately I didn't take before pictures (I'm kicking myself)
The Contractor is telling me he noticed it before he started working on the pool. I'm no expert, but I am pretty sure it wasn't there. Although at this point I don't know.
The weird thing is, that I've looked at pictures on the internet of Fiberglass pools bowing, and they all show the whole wall bowing. Whereas in this case, it's just a section of the pool wall pushed out. More of a bulge than a bow?

It seems like if it were going to bow out, the whole section of the wall would bow out, not just part of it.
Although I think I"m getting my terminology wrong.
I'm saying bowed out, when I mean that it is bowed in towards the center (Would that be bowed in?)
So I'm stumped.
Any ideas as to what I'm dealing with would be helpful.
File attached.

 

[Texas Splash]

That is a unique budge. I couldn't say why it developed or if it's anything to worry about. I know the pool was already there when you moved in, but I don't suppose the previous owners or realters might be able to tell you what manufacture that is huh?

 

[erdayo]

That is a unique budge. I couldn't say why it developed or if it's anything to worry about. I know the pool was already there when you moved in, but I don't suppose the previous owners or realters might be able to tell you what manufacture that is huh?

Thanks. Yes it happened when the pool was drained and refilled last week. I had a person come and apply aquaguard 5000 to the pool. So they drained and refilled it. This is what happened after they refilled it.
Thank you for taking the time to read the post and I appreciate your insight.

 

[Bperry]

Got a picture?

 

[revitup]

I would think that the folks that coated the pool would have noticed that and mentioned it if it was there before they began work.

 

[Bperry]

If the pool shell was damaged prior to the draining and there was some kind of backfill movement before it was refilled then it’s possible draining allowed the backfill to press inward on the shell like that. But it’s hard to see how the contractor would have known about it. It’s also possible the contractor is telling the truth in that if the bulge happened right away as it was drained he may not have been able to see it when water was in it.

This is all supposing without more info. And I assume the bulge is drawn more pronounced than it is in reality to illustrate the issue.

 

[JamesW]

The Contractor is telling me he noticed it before he started working on the pool.

Ask them why this was not pointed out when they "noticed" the issue.

Any existing issues should always be noted before a contractor begins any work to prevent just this type of problem.

Can you post pictures of the issue?